The Desire For Work
by Shadoweye77
Summary: In this prequel to "The Desire For Family," follow Jeremy Fitzgerald as he starts his job as a night guard. With no family or friends to turn to, Jeremy is forced to find work at a local pizzeria to make some money. In doing so, however, he is surprised to discover a family who not only cares about him but also change his life forever.
1. Chapter 1

Hello and welcome to this story. If you have read my other work, _The Desire for Family_ , then you are probably curious as to why I've made this one. Well, I have lately been caught in a writer's block for that story, and I just can't seem to get anything on paper yet. So, to help me break out of that while also writing something related to that plot, I give you _The Desire for Work_ , the prequel to that story. For the past couple months now, I've planned to write a prequel, so I thought why not go ahead and write it so that I knock myself out of this block.

How I'm going to be writing this going to be different from my either stories. These chapters are going to be shorter than my typical chapter (approximately 2000 words vs 6000 words) so that they are much quicker to write. Also, with the way I'm going to be writing this, people don't have to read the first story to get into this. If you are brand new, you can just pick up with this chapter and move forward.

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Chapter 1

~The Job Interview~

Jeremy Fitzgerald stood alone on the sidewalk as he gazed nervously at the building in front of him. The restaurant's childish vibe made the man uncomfortable, immensely as a matter of fact. There were tons of bright colors and cartoonish animals decorating the sides of the building, and it felt somewhat offsetting for the young man to be standing in front of a children's restaurant without being with any children of his own.

The young man was a mixed bag when it came to his appearance. Jeremy had taken the time beforehand to get a haircut for his blond hair, making it short and more professional, while also spending at least twenty minutes to shave away any facial hair. As for his clothes, they were about as professional looking as he could afford. He didn't have a whole lot of money to be spending with, so he had to compromise with the cheapest looking pair of professional clothes: a pair of tan khaki pants and a white long-sleeved button-down shirt.

Jeremy was shaking with anxiety, for this was his fourth job interview in the past three weeks. The last three jobs he had applied, each one varying in careers, were a lot more academically driven, which was something that he lacked. While he was lucky enough to get a high school diploma, Jeremy didn't have the necessary job experience that his interviewers were looking for, so he was forced to go out and apply for a much less extravagant job career: a night guard for a local pizzeria joint.

The man glanced down at his watch, and he saw it was five minutes before his interview was to begin. He took in a deep breath and waited a few seconds to collect his thoughts. Then, he opened the restaurant's door. As soon as the door was wide enough for him to walk through, Jeremy flinched at the sudden sound of screaming, yelling, and music. Lots and lots of music.

Jeremy walked inside, and he immediately saw well over a couple dozens of children standing in front of a large show stage, where five colorful looking animatronics stood. Two of them were bears, one of them was a bird, and the remaining two were rabbits. The animatronics, who were giving kids beaming smiles, were either carrying an instrument or a microphone as they sing. Jeremy saw a few more colorful figures move to the right of him, just outside of his peripheral vision. When he glanced on over, he saw one more animatronic, who was surrounded by another group of children. Unlike the animatronics on stage, this red one looked more like a canine of some sort, like dog or fox. The red animatronic also seemed to have a pirate aesthetic to it.

"Mr. Fitzgerald, I presume?" a voice stated right in front Jeremy, causing the young to shoot his face over towards an older looking man in his early fifties. The man had a brown bushy mustache just above his lip, and his eyes bore down into the younger generation with age and experience.

Jeremy paused for a moment, seemingly caught off-guard before clearing his throat, "Uh-Yes sir, I'm Jeremy Fitzgerald. I'm here for the interview."

"Hmph," the older man grumbled, "You're an hour late."

"Wait for what?" Jeremy asked in surprise as he glanced back down at his watch to look at the time. The watch readout, "2:55 PM", which was five minutes before his interview, so how was he late? Suddenly, Jeremy's heart dropped. He remembered what time of the year it was. He had forgotten about daylight savings time. "O-Oh gosh, I'm sorry sir! I forgot to adjust my watch, so I thought I was still on time!"

The mustached man blinked his eyes, unimpressed and disinterested. He grumbled something underneath his breath before waving a hand and saying, "Well it's too late now. You're late, and nothing is going to change that. My name is Franklin Smith. I'm the owner of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. If you would please follow me, Mr. Fitzgerald, so we can get started with your interview."

Jeremy felt increasingly nervous about the situation, and he quickly nodded, "Yes sir."

Frank wasted no time and started walking away, and Jeremy followed suit as the older man passed by several large party tables, which was filled to the brim with either kids or their parents. At that point, the animatronic band had just finished their song, and the whole crowd of kids in front of the stage got even rowdier than before. Jeremy glanced over towards the stage as he walked by the tables, eyeing over the animatronics again.

The four furthest from him was too busy waving at the crowd of children to notice his gaze, but the one closest to him, a light blue animatronic bunny, saw it. The bunny's bright green eyes stared back towards him somberly, as if something was upsetting it. Jeremy, upon realizing the animatronic's stare, hastily shifted his gaze back to Frank. The older man turned left into an open hallway, and Jeremy hastened his pace to catch up to the man. The blue animatronic watched in solemn silence as the man disappeared from its view.

The young man followed behind Frank as he was led down the hall. His footsteps echoed against the checkered tiles, and his eyes nervously glanced around at the white wallpaper, which was lightly decorated with purple triangles that were made to look like confetti. Once the pair made it halfway through the hall, the lively sound of cooking could be heard emitting from a room towards the very end of the hall.

In a few short moments, a yellow animatronic bird exited the kitchen doorways. This animatronic was a bit bigger than the other bird Jeremy saw a few seconds ago, and it was carrying a large pizza dish pan above its head. Franklin didn't bother glancing back when the bird passed by him, and he kept moving forward. Jeremy did the same as well, but he turned his head slightly around to study the animatronic a bit more.

When he turned his head though, he noticed the animatronic suddenly turned its head away from him, as if it was studying him. Jeremy watched hesitantly as the animatronic disappeared into the main dining hall, and he slowly turned back around to continue down the rest of the hallway.

The pair reached the end of the hall and turned left, where another hallway stood. This seemed to be the last hallway to Jeremy though, for it had an office at the very end of it. Frank led the young man by a couple more rooms, which looked to be private party rooms for guests. In one of the four rooms that the two passed, Jeremy noticed another animatronic, this time it was a white fox, which looked to be a lot similar to the red animatronic he saw before. It too had a pirate theme to it, just based on how it was wearing a pirate-like bandana around its neck. The vixen seemed to be pre-occupied with the group of kids that was surrounding it, so it didn't notice him when he and the older man walked into the room.

The two finally made it to the security office once they reached the end of the hall. The security room was rather small compared to the private party rooms that Jeremy had just passed by, and it mainly consisted of the large wooden desk and a few metal cabinets standing against the walls. Franklin went ahead and sat down in the office chair, and he motioned Jeremy to sit down in a smaller chair, which looked like it was pulled from one of the empty party rooms. Jeremy obliged though, and he sat himself down atop the cushioned seat.

"Alright Mr. Fitzgerald," Frank said with a heavy sigh as he opened up a vanilla file. He shuffled aside a couple of papers before lifting up one for Jeremy to see it, "I have here your resume and with it your family/employment history. However, I noticed that you left the family section blank."

There was a slight pause afterward, and Jeremy cleared his throat once he realized the man was waiting for a response. "Uh-yes sir, I did leave it blank."

"And why's that? Did you forget about it?"

"N-No sir," Jeremy shook his head, "I left it blank because I have no immediate family or guardians."

"None?" Frank said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, sir. I've been an orphan my whole life."

"I see." the older man said in an uncaring tone before looking back through Jeremy's papers. "I also see here that you have no prior experience in security, let alone a job, so let me ask you this." Frank lowered the papers and gave the young man a blank look. "What exactly made you want to apply for this job?"

This was a question Jeremy had prepared himself for dozens of times beforehand, so he immediately snapped to attention and said off memory, "I hope to gain essential work experience from this job, sir. While it is true that I have no prior experience in any career, I had participated in several school clubs before I graduated, one of which was the math and astronomy club. For my senior year of high school, I had acted as vice-president of the club while also maintaining a 3.0 GPA in school. However, I know school isn't everything, so I decided to try and learn some relevant knowledge, such as work experience."

Franklin nodded his head. "And what made you decide to make the jump from pursuing an interest in science or math to security ?"

Jeremy paused for a moment and said, "I am unable to financially support myself to go to college yet, so I thought it would be fitting if I were to seek out a full-time job and take a couple of years to save money."

"And do you see yourself working here long?"

Although deep down Jeremy had no interest in staying as long as he needed to, the youth nodded his head. "I do, sir."

Franklin nodded his head and thought for a moment, and as he did, he gave the young man a quick look over. "Well, so far everything seems to be in order. Aside from being late, you seem to be a good kid. I understand people make mistakes so that I won't hold that against you. Now, it says here you live on Applewood Road, which isn't too far from here if I'm correct?"

"Yes, sir. I live in an apartment complex along that road, and it takes me about fifteen minutes to get here from it."

"I see. Well, Mr. Fitzgerald," Frank said as he stood himself up from his chair, giving Jeremy a look that seemed like he was unimpressed, "I think I've seen enough. Thank you for taking the time to come by."

Jeremy felt his heart stop when he heard the man's words, but he quickly got up from his chair and shook Frank's hand. "T-Thank you for taking your time to interview me, sir."

He turned himself away from the older man and made his way towards the hallway again. Jeremy's back slouched over as he walked further into the hall. He had hoped he would get this job because it was one of the last few places he could apply for. There weren't that many businesses left to look for a job, and he was so sure he would get this one. Nonetheless, the young man trudged on, turning the corner to the secondary hall.

Jeremy could hear all the children yelling and screaming in the main room, but he just ignored it all for he was too busy staring at the floor in defeat. All that went through his mind was the look he saw on Franklin's face. The old man didn't seem to be impressed.

Suddenly, Jeremy felt himself bump into someone. He immediately raised himself back up and was just about to apologize when he stopped short. Instead of knocking into another person, or worse a child, the man had crashed into the blue animatronic he saw beforehand on the stage.

The bunny had a shocked expression when it ran into Jeremy, and it quickly shifted its hands off the straps of its guitar. It spoke in a gentle, feminine voice, "Oh gosh! I-I'm sorry, sir! I didn't see you! A-Are you alright?"

Jeremy felt a paw rest on top his left shoulder, but he didn't pay much attention to it as he only nodded his head in response. "Ye-Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry... I-I wasn't paying attention." The man shrugged off the animatronic's paw and continued on walking, ignoring the animatronic's stare. He was too upset about not landing the job to even bother in looking back at the animatronic.

As for the bunny, it watched the man slouch his way to the main dining hall, where he was soon drowned away by children and adults. It observed him exit from its sight, all while wearing a saddened expression. Something didn't feel right...

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Like I said before, these are going to be coming out a lot more quickly than _The Desire for Family,_ but please don't feel like I'm abandoning it. This story will help motivate me to push forward.

As always, if you liked what you've read and want to leave your thoughts, or if you have a critique, please feel free to leave a review as well. Reviews don't hurt my feelings, and I'm always appreciative of what you have to say.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

~The New Night Guard~

 _*Ring Ring Ring*_

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Fitzgerald?"

"It is. What can do for you?"

"It's Mr. Smith from Freddy's Pizzeria. Can you come to the restaurant around 11 PM?"

"W-What for, sir?"

"You got the job."

"O-Oh, then well, of course, I can come by! What do I need to bring?"

"I will supply everything you need when you get here, including your uniform."

"Understood, sir! Thank you!"

"Don't. Be. Late. I'll be waiting for you when you arrive."

…

The young man wasted no time when he parked his car in the empty lot, and he hopped right out of his car. It was already pitch dark outside when he arrived at the pizzeria, and the only source of light he could see was the restaurant's dimly lit entrance. Jeremy could see his boss standing just inside the restaurant, just underneath the dim light, so he quickly rushed over to the doorway and let himself in.

"Good evening, sir," Jeremy politely said as he closed the door behind him, keeping the cold autumn air outside. He turned back around to face towards his boss.

Franklin grunted something back in return before he cleared his throat. "You're on time. Good."

Jeremy nodded his head and raised up his wrist to show his watch, "I made sure my watch was correct this time, sir."

The old man grumbled something under his breath. While Jeremy couldn't quite hear it, he would have sworn it sounded like, "I don't care," or something close to that. The guard, however, didn't say anything to not irritate his boss.

"Let's make this quick, I'd like to get home sometime tonight," his boss rudely stated as he faced away from the guard.

Then, to Jeremy's surprise, the man started walking in a direction he didn't recognize. Instead of going left towards the main hall that eventually leads down to the office, his boss was instead walking towards a different hallway, which was located on the right-hand side of the dining hall.

"Uh, sir… Where are you going?"

Frank scowled at the young man when he turned his head as if Jeremy had said something that pissed him off. "I'm showing you what you'll be watching out for." The man then continued to walk into the darkness of the building.

Jeremy, not wanting to be left behind, hastened his way behind the older man as they walked through the darkness. The guard could barely see what was around him, but his boss seemed to have no trouble at all for navigating through the dining hall. The two soon entered into a hallway that appeared to have split off at the end of it. From where it split off, there was a set of double doors blocking the left-hand side while the right-hand side remained.

When they reached the very end of the hall, his boss pushed open the closed off doors, and, to Jeremy's surprise, there seemed to be light coming through the doors. Not wanting to stay in the darkness, Jeremy followed behind Franklin as they entered this new hallway, which had a dim set of lights illuminating its walls. There were four doors on both sides of the hall, each one a decent space between each other. Then, there was a ninth doorway at the very end of the hall, and Jeremy could hear voices coming out from it.

Frank went ahead and made his way down the hallway. Jeremy did so as well, but his pace was much slower than before. He eyed around at the eight other doors, and he could see a plastic nameplate was posted at the center of each doorway. Each of plates had a name embedded in it, but they were all names he didn't recognize, aside from one that read, "Freddy."

Eventually, he passed by all the side doors and was at the end of the hall, where his boss stood impatiently for him. The old man said nothing as he motioned the guard to enter the lively room, and Jeremy hesitantly did so. As soon as he walked through, the young man stopped short when he spotted all of the eight animatronics he saw earlier that day.

On his left side, there three animatronics sitting down on a couch, which was facing towards a TV set that happened to be on. When he looked to his center, Jeremy saw a small kitchen-like hub at the wall, where he saw two bright yellow chickens facing away from him, seemingly oblivious to his entrance. Finally, on his right-hand side, the guard saw the last three animatronics sitting around a large wooden table, which looked big enough for all of them to sit at.

There was a slight moment of silence for the young man as he glanced around at the colorful animals in awkward silence.

Then, much to his displeasure, he was soon spotted by one of the animatronics sitting at the table. The animatronic was a bulky-looking brown bear with a top hat sitting atop its head. It gazed at him for a moment before giving a loud, audible cough. All of the animatronics in the room soon stopped what they were doing, and they all turned towards Jeremy when they noticed him.

Jeremy's heart was pounding against his chest when he felt all of their gazes. It's one feeling to have eight people stare at you, but it's another one entirely when it's eight animatronics. It was unnerving for the man.

Suddenly, his heart jumped when he heard, "Ahem," directly behind him, causing the guard to turn around towards his boss. The old man, however, paid him no mind when, instead, he gazed between all eight animatronics with a stern expression.

"This is your night guard. He'll be working here now to make sure nothing bad happens again."

Franklin paused for a moment as he shifted his eyes towards one animatronic in particular, the blue bunny Jeremy ran into earlier. His eyes bore down on the animatronic like a raging fire, and Jeremy watched as the bunny glanced away from the man with a frightful expression.

Frank then shifted his gaze back towards the rest of the gang, "I don't want to hear you all giving him any trouble, do you understand? It's not his fault he has to watch over you. You can blame yourselves for that."

His boss's words didn't seem to help Jeremy, for now, he felt the animatronics' eyes stare back at him with a new level of intensity. None of the animatronics spoke up once the man was done. They all just stared at Jeremy.

The young man shifted uneasily under their gazes, and he was almost thankful to feel his boss's hand grab his shoulder and say, "C'mon now. Let's head to your workstation, that way I can hand everything to you and leave."

Jeremy nodded his head in silence as he turned away from the animatronics. He followed behind Frank as he left the room, but Jeremy couldn't help himself from looking back. The animatronics was still staring at him, except for two of them. The white vixen animatronic was too busy with, what Jeremy could have guessed, comforting the frightened bunny, which seemed to be frowning to itself as its ears sulked over.

The man paused. From where he stood, the guard could hear the soothing vixen voice.

"It's alright Bon... It's alright. It isn't your fault."

The blue animatronic didn't seem to be listening though, for it kept its eyes in a downward cast, ashamed of itself. Jeremy watched in silence, slightly frowning at the scene. In his mind, it was odd to see what he thought were animatronics to be acting so strangely. From what he's seen so far, they seem so real, but then again he can't compare them to any other animatronics because he hasn't seen any others before. After thinking he's seen enough, Jeremy finally turned away from the animatronics and left through the door.

Jeremy hastened his pace to catch up to his boss, who had already gone through the double doors. He pushed open the doors, and he saw his boss again, walking down the hall that led to the main dining hall. The guard finally caught back up to the man. The two were silent at first when they entered the main hall, but that didn't last long.

"God damn machines," Franklin muttered under his breath as he kept his eyes forward. "I can't believe I have to put up with their mess."

"Uh… sir?"

"What."

"I-If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did they do?"

That was when the man stopped. Then, for the first time since Jeremy had arrived, his boss met with his eyes.

"Your job isn't to watch over this restaurant; it's to watch over those damn robots."

"W-Watch them? What for? Can't you power them off or something?"

"Trust me, Mr. Fitzgerald, if that were an option, I would have done it long ago. No, they can't be shut off because the original creator designed them to be like us."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, "Us?"

"Like human beings," the man stated before beginning to walk again, and Jeremy followed suit. "Those machines have been a pain since the day I acquired them. As you could probably tell, they don't act like what you expect. There's a reason behind that."

Jeremy and Franklin left the main dining room and entered the main hall.

"The previous owner of this restaurant was their creator, and, for all the crap I say about those animatronics, I can't deny the ingenuity behind their design. Their creator had a philosophy that went into their design, and do you know what that was?"

"Uh, no sir."

Frank glanced over at the guard, "Kids can't tell the difference what is real or fake, but their parents can. If those machines were like any other animatronic, then parents wouldn't bother bringing their kids back if the experience wasn't special."

The two turned left around the corner and were now heading towards the security office.

"Our animatronics aren't normal. They were specifically designed to be as realistic as possible. It's hard to catch, but, if you watch them enough, then you can notice it. Their expressions; their movements; their so-called feelings; it's all an illusion. It's so good that it keeps people coming back because their experiences are unique."

Franklin paused for a moment though, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Those animatronics... They're different, Mr. Fitzgerald. Keep your eyes on them, and don't let them fool you. Their programming can make them convincing. A little too convincing…"

The man's voice trailed off after that, and Jeremy decided it was best if he stopped asking questions. Finally, the two reached the security office, and there, sitting on the desk, was his uniform. Jeremy walked up to it and stopped right in front of it. He quickly glanced over at his boss, who had gone ahead and got behind the desk, and silently nodded towards it. The old man waved his up in the air.

"Yeah, yeah you can take it. It's your uniform now, but note that you get only one pair. For tonight, I don't expect you to be wearing it, but after which you will be coming to work in that. Do you understand?"

Jeremy picked up the folded uniform, and he simultaneously nodded his head, "Yes sir."

Frank grunted. "Good. Now, if you come over to where I am, I'll show you what you're supposed to do."

The young man turned his eyes away from the purple uniform, and he walked over to the desk, standing right beside his boss.

"Alright, so I assume you know how to work a computer, correct?"

The guard responded, "Mhm."

"That makes things easier then. The security program should always be running on this computer, so you shouldn't have problems in trying to open it. However, if there is the off chance you have to reboot the computer, you can simply click it open when you got to the main screen. It'll be the only program that's down on your taskbar, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now then, do you see this tower right here?" Franklin asked as he pointed to a black desktop tower sitting down on the floor.

Jeremy nodded his head.

His boss continued, "The security footage you'll be taking every night is going to be recording at all times. At the end of every two weeks, I want you to take that footage and save it onto one of these here blank CD's," he said as he pointed at a small disk collection sitting atop the tower. "After every Sunday shift, you are expected to take that entire footage and burn it onto one of those CDs. Once you've done that, you'll date it with a sharpie and place it into this filing cabinet you see behind the desk.

Jeremy glanced back and saw the gray cabinet he was referring to.

"You'll store the CD in there, and then, once you've done that, you will put in a new CD into the desktop. Does that sound easy enough?"

"Yes, sir."

His boss nodded his head in approval, "Perfect. This is a no failed task, Mr. Fitzgerald. If something were to happen to this property during the night shift, the saved security footage would us help with our insurance. Now then, I have one last task for you before I leave you to your job."

Jeremy eyed the older man with a curious look, "And what's that sir?"

"If you see those animatronics outside of their so-called hallway, I want you to keep an eye on them. If they start doing stuff to the place without my permission, I want you to call me immediately." Frank then waved a hand down at a sticky note, "My phone number is right there for you, but it is to be used only for emergencies. Got it?"

The guard nodded.

"Great. Well, Mr. Fitzgerald, I'll see you at seven tomorrow morning," the man unenthusiastically said as he started leaving the office. However, right when he was about to enter the hallway, he turned back around at the guard. "Oh, and one more thing…"

"And what's that sir?" Jeremy asked.

"If you see that blue rabbit wandering around the place, keep your eyes on it at all times. There was a recent incident that happened during the night, and all we could tell was that the damn thing had a mechanical fritz and nearly tore half the place down. If you see that thing starting to act up, call me immediately, and then try to intervene. I'll worry about the police, you just worry about the property."

The guard paused hesitantly. Eventually, though, he nodded his head.

At last, the old man finally seemed satisfied. Without saying another word, he turned away and made his way down the hall, leaving Jeremy behind in the office.

As for the young man, he stared at his boss for a good bit before looking over at the monitor screen. While he was staring at it, all he could think about was that blue animatronic. Was it that dangerous?

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Not much really to say other than I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving.


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome to another chapter! Next week is going to be nothing finals for me, so I wanted to get this chapter out before I bog myself done with studying. However, I can see myself getting bored quickly, so I'll probably pump out another chapter of either this. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

A huge shout-out goes to Devil-Vox, who had accepted my commission and drew this fantastic splash-art for both this story and _The Desire For Family_! If you like kemono-style art, then I highly recommend you checking out his DA account.

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Chapter 3

~First Shift of the Job~

For the last hour and a half, Jeremy had been staring non-stop at the cameras. He was watching the main dining hall cameras intensively, making sure none of the animatronics slipped by that room. The young man already knew that all eight of the animatronics were in their hallway, so all he had to do was make sure they didn't sneak into the dining hall cameras.

However, to say that his job wasn't a drag would be a lie, for Jeremy was bored out of his mind. He stared almost lifelessly at the screen, slouched back into the office chair because nothing had happened. Ever since he first started his shift, none of the machines had left their hallway, so Jeremy was stuck staring at a single room for the entirety of the night.

The guard had already taken the time to change into his uniform; of course, he didn't leave the room to do it because he didn't feel safe leaving it. The young man's half-opened eyes drifted over to the side, where a small desk fan sat. It hummed lightly as it gently blew cold air into his face, and soon his eyes shifted away from that in disinterest. When he gazed back over at the monitor screen though, the guard's boredom vanished when he saw a shade of yellow disappear to the side.

Jeremy straightened himself up from his seat, and he pulled himself closer to the screen to get a better view of what he just saw. Soon enough, he saw a small yellow blurb poking out again to the right side of the screen. Instinctively, the guard pushed his face even closer to the monitor. The yellow blur had not yet entered the main dining hall, so that meant it was still inside the hallway that divulged towards the restrooms and "private" hallway.

The guard quickly switched through different cameras to see if he could get a better angle of the blur, and he eventually came across a camera that overlooked the said divulgence. At the moment, the camera was facing towards the direction of restrooms, so Jeremy pressed the right-most arrow key to see if he could shift the camera's angle some more. The camera started to turn, and it wasn't long before Jeremy saw what the yellow blur was hidden in the hallway.

To Jeremy's surprise and shock, it wasn't just one animatronic in the hall but rather two. Both of the animatronics were the yellow birds he saw earlier, with the smaller animatronic poking its head out into the main dining hall and the larger one standing next to it. The guard's eyes furrowed when he saw the two machines standing at the end of the hall suspiciously. He then pressed down on the volume button to see if he could turn it up, and, as the volume tab went up, that was when he could hear the animatronics' voices.

"What do you see, CC?" the larger chicken said as it peered over at its friend.

The smaller animatronic shifted uneasily from where it stood, and it quickly poked its head back into the hallway. "I saw the camera light turn on a second ago, which meant the guard was watching, but I don't see the red light anymore."

"Did he change cameras then?"

The smaller chicken shrugged at its companion, "I don't know. I'm not used to these cameras."

Jeremy watched with a stern eye as the larger chicken glimpsed back towards his direction, and he froze up when he noticed the chicken's eyes stare directly into his camera.

"He's watching us right there," the animatronic muttered in a much more hushed tone as it pointed a feathered finger towards his camera.

"What? Are you sure, Chica?"

The larger robot nodded its head towards the camera, and soon Jeremy watched as the other animatronic turned its head towards him. The man felt a jolt of anxiety rushing through his spine, so he quickly switched back to the camera peering across the main dining hall. Although he couldn't see them now, the guard could still hear their soft voices in the silent restaurant.

"Oh? Did he just change cameras again?"

"Yeah… He just did."

"Where did he switch off to…"

The smaller chicken's frame then entered the room, allowing the night guard to see its full body. The thin-looking animatronic gazed around the room with a puzzled look, but, when it got back towards his camera, it stopped and pointed right at it.

"There! He's over there, Chica!"

The second animatronic then came into view, towering over the other animatronic by about another foot. Like its companion, the rounder-looking animatronic was looking right at the security camera, but it had a stern frown instead of a puzzled look.

"He's watching us…"

Jeremy tensed his body up when he heard the animatronic's voice, and he pulled back a bit from the computer screen.

"So… What should we do? Should we go back?"

The taller animatronic gave no response at first, only a long pause. Jeremy's breathing slowed with each second passing by. The man watched in anxious silence. Eventually, the animatronic made its move, and it was one that the guard had been dreading over.

"C'mon, CC. Let's make this quick."

The animatronic started to move further into the dining hall, and the other one soon followed behind until they both were out of the camera's view. The young man's heart was starting to pound against his chest, and he shifted over to the main hallway camera. He could see the two animatronics entering the hall, and they weren't stopping. When they disappeared from view, Jeremy shot his eyes forward.

The guard froze. Two pairs of eyes were staring straight at him, all the way at the end of the hall; one was blue, and the other was magenta. The animatronic's eyes glowed in the darkness, illuminating their bodies just enough for the guard to see their silhouettes. Jeremy stared back at the pair with wide open eyes. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was telling himself to run, but the rest of his body wasn't responding. He was stuck there in the seat, gazing back at the two animatronics.

For a whole minute, neither party moved. They stayed right where they were, eyeing down each other in silence. When one of the animatronics started to walk, Jeremy tensed up even more, and he held his breath. At first, the walking animatronic had its magenta eyes still on him, but it eventually turned away from his direction and seemingly disappeared into a room. The other animatronic did the same as well, leaving the man all alone in his office.

With both animatronics gone from sight, the guard eased his body a bit and looked back over at the computer screen. He peered at the map display on the bottom left corner of it, trying to figure out where the two animatronics went off to. As he was doing so, the distant sound of metal clanging against each other echoed down into his office, causing the guard to glance away from the screen. The clanging continued for another few seconds before it suddenly stopped.

The young man frowned, and, slowly, he turned his head back to the monitor. He studied the map layout before noticing a camera on the upper left most corner of the display, which looked right about where the two animatronics disappeared into. He selected it.

The security footage shifted its view to inside the kitchen, and that was when Jeremy saw the two animatronics again. He could see both figures walking around the room's large kitchen island, which was located at the center of the room. As he watched, the guard noticed that they were carrying with them a multitude of pots, pans, bowls, cooking utensils, and even food.

"What the hell," the guard muttered to himself as he moved closer to the screen. "What are they doing?"

The pair set their stuff down on top of the middle island, and they both started to organize the items into various groups. While they were doing that, the two would occasionally shoot a glance at the camera to see if the guard was still watching them. Once the animatronics were finished with organizing everything, both of them nodded to one another and started to work in their areas.

Jeremy blinked with bewilderment, "Are they cooking something?"

Thinking that this was some distraction, the guard quickly rotated through the remaining cameras in the pizzeria to see if there were any others, but all of the feeds came out empty. When the guard got back to the camera in the kitchen, he once again saw the animatronics cooking.

The guard pushed his back to the chair, and he frowned suspiciously at the screen. There had to be something he was missing. Jeremy double checked all of the cameras just to be sure. There was still only those two animatronics in the kitchen.

For the next thirty minutes, Jeremy kept his eye on the animatronics, while occasionally flipping through the other cameras. The two animatronics had been cooking the whole time, all while being completely silent. Whenever the guard changed cameras for just a minute to check up the rest of the building, he would always come back to the kitchen to hear them talking with each other. However, their discussions were short-lived whenever they noticed the camera light was on, and they always resorted to silence once they realized it.

When the pair had finished up preparing what looked like to be dinner, they cleaned up their workstations and returned all the kitchen appliances to their rightful places. Once they finished cleaning up, the two left the room while carrying plates and bowls filled with food, so Jeremy quickly glanced away from the monitor to look at the end of the hall. He could see their eyes pierce through the darkness as they exited through the kitchen's double doors, and he could see them both glance over at him for just a moment before walking out of view. The guard returned his gaze to the computer screen, and he watched as they walked towards their hallway, passing by all the cameras without giving them a single glance.

Once they reached out of sight and entered their hall, Jeremy slouched back into his chair. He took a brief glimpse at his watch, which read "3:13 AM". The man shifted his gaze away from his watch, and he gave a long, tired sigh.

The next hour passed by slowly for the guard. He had already gone back to his early strategy of keeping the camera feed on the dining hall entrance-way, so the man did nothing but stare at the screen. The shift dragged on for the young man, and it got to a point where he wished something were to happen, or else he would fall asleep out of sheer boredom.

The guard really didn't want the latter to help in fear of his boss walking in to find him passed out on the job. Knowing how impatient the older man was, Jeremy didn't want to take any chances. Still, though, it was hard enough for him to stay awake when there was nothing to do.

When the fifth hour came along, Jeremy had to force himself up out of his chair to stay awake. The young man explored the small room to occupy his thoughts. He checked metal cabinet drawers behind him to see if what his boss as referring to; he checked inside each of the desk drawers if there was something interesting in there; he even brought his chair over to the center of the room so that he could reach for a cord that was dangling from the ceiling. He may not have known what that cable was for, but he didn't care. He was bored beyond belief.

As he was doing all of this though, a blue figure slowly walked out of the hallway that the camera was pointed at. The figure glanced around the main dining hall shyly, and it took a couple more seconds for it to muster the courage to keep walking through. The animatronic clutched its reddish guitar within its arms as it walked. Eventually, it went far enough into the room to disappear from the camera's view.

Another minute passed, and Jeremy finally walked back over to his desk with the chair. After discovering that the cord connected to the ceiling was, in fact, a foldable ladder that led up to the rooftop, he sat down in the chair to resume his duties. At first, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. No animatronic was in sight.

Then, he heard something echo down the hall, something gentle and melodic. The guard paused. Slowly, Jeremy tilted his ears towards the tune. The song didn't sound too far out from where he was. In fact, it sounded like it was somewhere just down the security hall. The guard frowned as he listened to the song and its gentle rhythm. He felt like he's heard the tune before, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. Jeremy glanced back over at the monitor screen, and he started to flip the security feed through the different cameras.

"It's not coming from the kitchen..."

*Click*

"Nor the party rooms..."

*Click*

"It's not even coming from the restroom hall..."

The man looked puzzled. He could hear the song because the restaurant was so quiet, but he couldn't seem to find where the tune was coming from. When he rechecked the camera layout to see if he had missed a spot, the man realized he had accidentally skipped over the stage camera. Without a second thought, he clicked on the stage camera, and that was when he paused.

A blue animatronic was sitting on the very edge of the stage, playing its guitar. Jeremy nearly panicked because it was the very same animatronic that he was supposed to watch out for, but he calmed down when he realized the bunny wasn't doing anything harmful. It simply sat there, with both of its eyes closed, while it strummed the instrument, seemingly unaware of the camera watching it.

The guard watched in silence as the animatronic plucked each string with its furred paw. The bunny bobbed its head methodically to the tune, and, as it did so, a small tear began to form in the corner of its eye. Jeremy frowned when he saw the tear, so he zoomed in closer to the animatronic's face. From what the man could tell, the animatronic seemed to have a sorrowful expression; both of its ears were drooping over towards its face while it wore a sulking frown.

When the song came to its inevitable end, the animatronic began to open its eyes slowly, revealing two bright emerald eyes. Jeremy's eyes softened a tad as he watched the bunny lift a paw up from its guitar and wipe away the tear it shed. Once it did that, the animatronic rested its guitar atop its legs, and then it just stared downwards at the floor in silence.

Jeremy frowned. Unlike the other two animatronics that he watched over, this one didn't try to sneak any glances at the camera or scowl at it. In fact, he hadn't seen it look up towards at all since he had been watching it. The bunny just sat in silence, staring somberly at the ground.

Suddenly, the sound of bells rang inside the room, and it was shortly followed by the sound of children exclaiming, "Yay!"

The guard shifted his eyes away from the animatronic for just a moment to look at his watch, and he was shocked to find it was "6:00 AM". Jeremy blinked in surprise before glancing back at the monitor to check on the bunny. At that point, it was already off the stage and walking back towards its hallway, passing by all of the security cameras without glancing up at them. Although the animatronic had disappeared from his sight, the young man still kept his frown.

Eventually, though, he shook his head and managed to muster a smile. "Well then, I guess I just finished my first day on the job."

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I would like to wish all of you luck on your midterms/finals for this upcoming week or two. And remember, if you liked what you've read or if you have some critiques about the story, feel free to leave a review or PM.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back, and I've pumped out another chapter for you.

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I'm going to see what I can do about posting another chapter in both of my _Rekindling_ series and this one. As for _The Desire For Family_ , I'm going to be making an update soon as to the future of that story.

A huge shout-out goes to Devil-Vox, who had accepted my commission and drew this fantastic splash-art for both this story and _The Desire For Family_! If you like kemono-style art, then I highly recommend you checking out his DA account.

* * *

Chapter 4

~From a Different View~

A giant red curtain stood in front of Bonbon as the sound of excited cheering and clapping could be heard from the opposite side of the fabric. The ever-growing noise continued to rise higher and higher as the kids grew wilder, causing the bunny to sigh. The turquoise-colored animatronic leaned forward a tad and glanced over to her left. Her four friends stood alongside her on the stage, each one displaying varying levels of excitement for the show.

CC was jittering with excitement at the far end of the group, holding her two maracas with a wide grin. The animatronic over was Fredbear, and, unlike CC, he stood in a relaxed manner as he held the microphone. Freddy stood similarly to Fredbear, only the difference being he had a more toothy smile. Then, there was Bonnie, who was casually tuning his guitar with a cheerful smile.

Out of all of the animatronics on stage, Bon was the only one who wasn't smiling. The bunny glanced away from the gang, hoping to hide her sad look from them.

It has been the second week since the night guard has been hired, and there have been mixed feelings about the man. Some of Bon's friends have accepted the guard's presence and pay no mind to the cameras, while others still loathe the fact that someone is always watching them. Bon, however, had held no opinion towards the man, for she couldn't help but feel responsible for him being there in the first place.

The bunny's mood has continuously been despondent, both during the day and night. The constant shadow of guilt plagued her mind, and the animatronic could only sulk to herself whenever she was upset. Although her friends have tried to cheer her up, her guilt always stuck around.

Bonbon gave another somber sigh, and her right arm gently lowered to the side of the guitar, where she could feel some inscribed writing on its surface. With her eyes closed, the animatronic's paw slid across each letter of the inscription. She didn't need to open her eyes to read it, for she had already memorized the line in her heart.

"A smile is what matters. -M"

Then, she heard the stage's speakers ring loudly as they were turned on, signaling the start of their show. Bon opened her eyes again towards the current, still wearing her frown as Freddy spoke into his microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I hope you all are excited about our show."

As if on cue, the children's screaming got louder as they jumped up and down excitedly.

Freddy gave an amused smile as he then playfully said, "I couldn't hear you..."

The children practically roared in unison, which caused everyone, except for Bon, to smile even wider. They had an enthusiastic crowd.

"Ah, much better," the bear announced. With the curtain still covering the band, Freddy between the four animatronics on both his sides. "Well gang, are we ready?"

Each of the band members responded down the line, starting from CC.

"Uh-huh!"

"Of course, Freddy!"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be!"

When it came time for Bon to respond, she took in a deep breath and managed a fake smile. "We're all set," she called down to Freddy, trying to hide her sadness behind a cheerful voice.

"Then let's get this show on the road!"

The stage curtains began to unfurl, and Bon was briefly overwhelmed by the sudden brightness coming from the stage lights. She quickly adjusted to the light though, and she soon came face to face with a crowd of well-over two dozens of kids, who were all screaming off of the top of their lungs.

Bonbon's eyes shifted away from the crowd while Freddy announced some more into his microphone. The bear's words and children's screaming fell quiet as Bon gazed towards the center of the room, where a dozen of filled party tables sat. The tables were filled with a much older audience, a mixture of teens and adults.

Some of the parents were enjoying themselves and talked amongst each other, while others were watching their kids. However, there were a couple of parents that gave Bon and her friends dirty looks. While it wasn't the first time she had seen those kinds of looks before, it still didn't mean she had to like them.

It was always a demeaning sight for Bonbon, for she couldn't help but feel unwanted. The whole world saw her as nothing more than an animatronic, and there was nothing she could do to change their minds.

A gentle nudge on her left elbow caused Bon to glance away from the adults and turn towards Bonnie, who was peering over towards her. While the purple animatronic still kept his smile for the kids, his eyes told the bunny a different story. Bonnie was worried about her.

The two animatronics gazed back each other for a moment, silently conveying to one another their emotions. Then, both were awakened from their momentary trance as Freddy counted down from five, cueing the gang on their first song. Bon and Bonnie shared their eyes one final time before turning back towards the crowd.

For now, they had a show to do, but after, they can talk.

...

With the crowd of children cheering, all five band members waved their hands as the stage curtains closed. Each member had a smile as the fabric hid them from the audience's view until finally, all five were away from sight.

Freddy, Fredbear, and CC started to walk towards the back of the stage so they could set aside their microphones and maracas, but Bonnie and Bonbon stood where they were.

The purple animatronic inhaled a single breath and exhaled it in relief before turning over towards Bonbon. He kept his smile as he faced the bunny, but he realized Bon had already closed her eyes in shame. Bonnie's smile turned into a frown, however, when he saw the bunny's ears droop forward over her face.

Extending his arm out towards the sulking animatronic, Bonnie gently nudged her. "Hey, is everything alright, Bon?"

Instead of turning to face Bonnie, Bon peered away from him and, with her eyes still closed, muttered softly, "I-I'm fine, Bonnie."

Bonnie wasn't convinced though, and he took it upon himself to sling his guitar over his shoulder before gently wrapping his arms around the bunny. Bon didn't voice any objections, but she still kept her eyes closed when she was pulled into a hug.

"You know you can tell me anything," Bonnie said in a matter-of-fact tone as he held the animatronic in a hug.

"I know," Bon said soft-spoken, opening her eyes just slightly to peer down at the floor.

"And you know it can just be between the two of us, right?"

Bon sighed softly. "Yes..."

The rabbit removed his arms from the hug so he could turn the bunny towards him, who still kept her eyes averted. For a moment, Bonnie's frown remained when he saw this, but then he gave a light-hearted smile as he came up with an idea.

Bonbon continued to sulk to herself until, suddenly, she felt a tap on one of her drooping ears. The ear shook up and down for a second or two before falling still, which resulted in another pat. Bon glanced up at Bonnie, and that was when she saw his playful smirk when he patted her ear again.

"C'mon droopy-ears," Bonnie teased, "tell me what's wrong."

Bon's saddened expression lightened a bit as she waved a hand over her ears, giving the rabbit a small smile. "Stop that," she said in an amused tone, which only resulted in Bonnie patting another ear.

"Nuh-uh, not until you tell me what's wrong."

She tried waving a hand again, but this only resulted in Bonnie tapping another ear. Bon's mood brightened as she giggled playfully, and Bonnie's grin widened when he saw her expression. With one final tap, the purple rabbit booped Bonbon on her nose.

"There, feeling any better now, Bon?"

Bon shot a smirk up towards the taller rabbit as she then flashed a paw up to flick one of Bonnie's ears. The wobbled as she just managed to flick it, and then she said triumphantly, "Now I feel better."

The rabbit gave a hearty chuckle while he shook his head. "That's good to hear. Now, will you finally tell me what's on your mind so that I can help, or do I have to resort to something else to get you to talk?"

Bonbon shook her head in response, but her smile fell a tad. "No, you don't need to do anything more. I'm just upset about something, that's all."

"Are you still upset over what happened," Bonnie asked in concern, changing his smile into a frown.

Bon hid her face away again, ashamed of her answer. "Yes..."

With a shake of his head, Bonnie sighed, "Bon, I know it might be hard, but you have to try and move on."

"But how?" Bon asked in a frustrated tone, turning her face back towards the rabbit. "You all keep saying that, but you don't know how it feels! I'm the one who tore half this place apart, not you, or Mangle, or Fred, or anyone else. I'm the one responsible for it, despite not even knowing how I did it in the first place..."

The bunny's eyes fell back towards the floor, and her ears instinctively drooped. When Bonnie saw this, he placed his other free paw on her remaining shoulder.

"Talk with anybody, Bon. You've got a whole family who supports you and is willing to listen, but only if you give us the opportunity. We want to help, but we also don't want to force you into talking with us. Otherwise, that will only make you more uncomfortable."

Bonnie then bent a knee so he could see Bon's eyes again, and, when he did, the rabbit brushed a paw across her cheek.

"As I said before, you can tell me anything, and I'll do everything I can to help. So please Bon, let me help."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Bonnie kept his eyes facing towards Bon's, but she never returned the gaze. Instead, after another few seconds, the blue bunny closed her eyes once more and backed away from Bonnie.

The purple animatronic could only watch as he allowed Bonbon to pull away from his hands. She stepped away from him without uttering another word, and she eventually turned to walk away from him and the rest of the band, who had been standing a couple of feet watching the scene unfold.

Each animatronic watched the sulking bunny with a sorrowful expression. Some of them wanted to step up and say something, but they instead kept quiet and allowed Bon to make her choice.

They knew, when the time comes, she'll go to them. They may not have known when that will be, but, still, they clung to their hope as the blue animatronic disappeared from their view.

* * *

This chapter is relatively shorter than the rest, but I feel it is appropriate for setting up what is about to come. Hopefully, you've all enjoyed it.

As per usual, if you would like to leave your thoughts or comments about the story so far, please feel free to do so. If your comments are related to _The Desire For Family_ , I respectfully request for you to wait for my update on it to be made.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello! Another chapter is out! I hope everyone had a nice Christmas/Holiday.

A huge shout-out goes to Devil-Vox, who had accepted my commission and drew this fantastic splash-art for both this story and _The Desire For Family_! If you like kemono-style art, then I highly recommend you checking out his DA account.

* * *

Chapter 5

~First Encounter~

Jeremy sighed while casually flipping through each camera feed. It was his third week on the job, and he had grown used to the mundane task. The animatronics had already gone to the kitchen and made themselves dinner, so that meant Jeremy had to be concerned with one last animatronic: the blue bunny.

For the last several weeks, the guard had watched the bunny sneak out of its hall on random days, and it always did the same thing. It would leave its hall while carrying its guitar, make its way to the main stage, and play a few songs to itself. Unlike the rest of the gang who cook dinner each night, this animatronic never seemed to have a set schedule as to when it would do this, so Jeremy had to always keep watch just in case.

The guard, however, didn't mind this. His job was boring and uneventful at most, and his only exposure to the animatronics were through the security cameras. He may have gotten a couple of annoyed glares from them now and then whenever they noticed his camera light turned on, but none of them ever bothered to visit him in his office. Between them and the guard, there was a silent, mutual understanding; he would stay away from them, and they would stay away from him.

The only thing Jeremy really had to look forward to was to tune in on the bunny's music whenever it was alone, for it was the only other thing that ever occurred during his shift. The animatronic always seemed to be either too distant or sad to care about him watching over it, so Jeremy could watch over it without having to worry about getting glared at.

This shift was like all the rest: quiet and boring. All of the animatronics were in their hallway, Jeremy was the only person in the entire building, and there was the vast gap of silence that separated the two parties.

The night guard yawned to himself as he briefly turned away from the monitor screen and glanced around the office. There was a multitude of posters covering each wall of the room, and they all varied in illustrations. Some of them depicted the animatronics individually, while others had them grouped up in pairs.

There was one poster though that always caught the man's eye. It hung over to the left-hand side of the office, and, unlike all the other posters, it was the only one that had all of the animatronics together. Each animatronic wore a welcoming smile while waving their paws toward the unseen viewer. On the top of it all, several bold letters wrote out, "Join the Fazbear Family!"

Jeremy's eyes furrowed somberly when they read the poster's last word, and he couldn't help but sigh again as he turned away. He gazed absently towards the hall, seemingly spaced out by a deep, longing sense of companionship.

He had no one else to turn to if he ever needed help... No one to talk to if he was ever troubled... No one to spend time with him... The young man was as lonely as anyone could get.

After a minute or so from staring distantly into space, the guard eventually turned back towards the security feed. He noticed a blue-furred figure move through his view, and the man instantly knew what it was.

Straightening himself up a tad in his chair, Jeremy flipped to the security camera overlooking the main stage, and, sure enough, the blue animatronic bunny showed up a few moments later.

The guard shuffled his seat closer in towards the screen to get a better view of the bunny, which continued to approach the wooden stage. He watched in silence as the animatronic helped itself onto the stage with its guitar in hand, and that was when he finally saw its expression. The bunny had the same somber frown that it wore all the nights beforehand.

Jeremy sat back into his chair with a frown of his own. "I don't understand," he thought to himself. "Why does it keep coming out on its own?"

For a moment, the guard glanced away from the monitor screen and turned towards a black, cylinder tool sitting on the desk. Thanks to his weekly paycheck, Jeremy had managed to afford a flashlight with his own money, so he could at least navigate through the dark halls. The man took one more look towards the screen.

The animatronic sat alone in the darkness, strumming its guitar. The bunny's eyes were closed off from the world.

Jeremy glimpsed back at his flashlight in silence. After a moment of thought, he quickly checked through all the rest of the cameras just to make sure no other animatronic had snuck out. Once he made sure that all the halls were clear, the guard got up from his chair and grabbed ahold of his flashlight.

...

Bonbon felt some tears drip from her closed eyes, gently falling against the side of her furred cheek. The hum of her guitar's strings echoed in her ears as she bobbed her head to the tune. It was a soothing sound to her, and it was a nice way for her to clear her mind.

Bon's mind remained calm as the song continued; any thoughts or feelings she had previously had flown away. What was left was an animatronic in momentary bliss.

Unfortunately, she could hear the song come to its end with her own hands, so she slowly began to wake herself back up from her blissful state. Once the final cord had been strung, Bon opened her eyes sorrowfully as the string reverberated its last note.

The animatronic sighed as she stared down at the floor, then up towards the main dining room. Her eyes fell upon a large, empty gap next to where a handful of arcade machines stood.

Two months ago, the pizzeria used to offer a whole collection of arcade games to play with, but, in the course of a single night, it was almost destroyed.

Because of her, nearly all of those machines were destroyed. Because of her, the company was forced to hire a night guard. Because of her, Bonbon and her family would forever have to be monitored so such an event would never happen again.

And, what felt to be the worst part in Bon's opinion, she couldn't remember why she had done it in the first place. The blue animatronic had no memory of the ordeal.

The bunny's gaze eventually fell shamefully back down towards the floor; the pent-up sense of guilt was almost too overwhelming for her to handle. Bonbon was about to break into another fit of tears before hearing a cough.

In an instant, the animatronic shot her eyes upright. Her sad expression soon changed into shock when she found not an animatronic, but rather the night guard staring at her.

His eyes didn't stare at her with the same hostile-look that so many other adults have. Instead, his face expressed an emotion she had only ever expected coming from her own gang. The guard gave her a look of concern.

"Um... Hi there," the young man said awkwardly as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

Bonbon blinked in disbelief. "H-H-Hi," she managed to reply back timidly, not exactly sure how to appropriately react to the current situation.

The bunny tried to blink away her tears with her eyelashes in an effort to hide them from the guard, but this only prompted him to frown even further.

The man shuffled a bit more awkwardly from where he stood, slowly gathering up the courage to speak. "I... I um... I've been watching you come out... all alone... for the last couple weeks now, and I was... uh... wondering if you were... perhaps... alright?"

Bonbon sniffed back a couple more tears before reaching a hand up to wipe away the remaining ones that still clung to the bottom of her eyelids. She was still in a state of shock.

"You... want to know if I'm... alright?" Bon asked a tone of disbelief, pricking her ears up as she did so.

The guard gradually nodded his head, shifting his weight around between his legs. "Yeah, well, you always look so sad, and I was just wondering if I could... uh... do something to help out. I-I-I mean if you don't want my help that's fine! That's absolutely fine! I don't mean to be intruding or anything..."

"Oh, no! You're not at all," Bon quickly chimed in to dispel the guard's growing worry. "I'm feeling better now, so you have nothing to worry about, sir."

The man gave a deep sigh of relief as he said anxiously, "Good. Good. I'm glad to hear that..." His voice trailed off into awkward silence after that.

Bonbon could tell the guard was uncomfortable, so she tried to ease the mood by offering him a small yet grateful smile. "I appreciate you coming by to check on me, Mr..."

"Fitzgerald," the guard replied back politely, giving a smile of his own. "Jeremy Fitzgerald is my full name, but you can call me Jeremy to make it easier for yourself."

"Thank you, Jeremy," Bonbon said gratefully as she finally relaxed her body.

"I-I hope if you don't mind me asking this, but... um... I never did get your name," Jeremy then asked, looking a little bit ashamed of himself for not knowing the name of any of the animatronics he was supposed to be watching over. "My boss never did tell me what all of your names were..."

Bon nodded in sympathy, "Oh, you're fine. I know Mr. Smith can be a little... rough at times."

The guard gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, I can see that."

The animatronic bunny couldn't help but giggle to herself as well. After a moment or so, she recollects herself and says, "My name's Bonbon, but you can just call me Bon for short."

Jeremy gave a firm nod. "Pleasure to meet you, Bon."

"Likewise," Bonbon said with a smile.

The two then fell silent for another second before Jeremy took a glance back towards his office's direction.

"Well... I just wanted to come by to see if everything's alright, so I best get back to work. If you need anything from me, or just want to come over and talk, feel free to drop by my office."

Bonbon nodded her head while keeping her smile, "Thank you, Jeremy. I really appreciate you coming over."

The man's smile widened as he returned a nod. "Not a problem. Have a good night."

"You too," the animatronic said with a wave.

The guard then walked back into the main hall, leaving the bunny all alone to herself again.

Despite this, though, Bon no longer felt depressed about herself. The animatronic kept her smile as her eyes drifted away from where the guard stood, shifting them down towards the guitar that sat on her lap. Her gaze fell upon the written inscription, and she felt her smile widen.

"A smile is what matters. -M"

* * *

Once again, a short chapter, but a sweet one. Let's see what the next one will bring. If you like how I've been writing this so far, please feel free to leave a review. The same can be said about any criticisms.

Also, if you like these shorter but quicker update chapters versus my longer yet monthly updates with _The Desire For Family_ , please let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

I ain't dead, nor is this story dead. I've just been busy is all. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy these two chapters.

A huge shout-out goes to Devil-Vox, who had accepted my commission and drew this fantastic splash-art for both this story and _The Desire For Family_! If you like kemono-style art, then I highly recommend you checking out his DA account.

* * *

Chapter 6

~Good Morning~

A few hours had passed and the night guard's shift came to an end, which meant it wouldn't take long for the whole animatronic gang to wake up for the day.

Bonbon was the first animatronic to be inside the lounge room when the rest of her family slowly started to wake. The bunny sat comfortably on the couch as she carefully tuned her guitar. Mangle was the first animatronic to enter the room, and Bon promptly greeted her with a beaming smile.

"Morning, Mangle."

The white vixen glanced over and caught sight of Bon's cheerful smile. The animatronic blinked in surprise for a moment before eventually offering a smile of her own.

"Oh, morning lass," Mangle replied back in a lightly Scottish accent.

Bon couldn't help but giggle a little, "You know you don't have to keep talking in your pirate voice. There are no kids around."

Mangle gave a jolly chuckle before replying without her accent, "I know that Bon, but it still makes for good practice. I'm not nearly as good at it as Foxy."

"Well, that's because it's the only voice he uses nowadays," Bonbon said.

The vixen shrugged as she walked over towards the bunny. "Hey, you can't deny that it makes Foxy and I sound a lot more authentic now."

"True, very true."

Just then, Fredbear walked sluggishly into the room with his whole body sulking forward. The bear made a tired groan as he immediately made his way towards the coffee machine, which Bon was considerate enough to have gone ahead and get it started.

"Morning ya'll," the bear yawned as passed by the two, who both offered him pleasant smiles.

"Morning Fred," the two animatronics said simultaneously.

A loud yawn then could be heard emitting from the lounge's entrance, causing both Bon and Mangle to glance over. There, they saw a tired-looking Bonnie. The rabbit paid no mind to them at first since he needed to get some caffeine in his body.

Bonbon's grin widened when she saw the purple animatronic, so she called out sarcastically, "You're looking lively as ever, Bonnie!"

It took the rabbit a second to register Bon's words before he could glance over and see her smile. As soon as he did, Bonnie's tired expression slowly turned into a grin when he saw the bunny's contagious smile. With a soft chuckle, the purple rabbit changed his direction towards the couch and replied back, "Hehe… Yeah, well, that's what four hours of sleep does to a person after a fourteen-hour shift."

Bonbon felt Bonnie's paw ruffle the top of her head, messing up her brushed fur just a tad. Her expression turned into a playful grin as she swiped away the rabbit's paw, "Hey! You're ruining my fur!"

"Good," the rabbit stated with a smirk, which earned him a slap from Mangle. Bonnie, however, just laughed it off as he headed back towards the coffee machine. Fredbear had already poured out some coffee in a mug for the animatronic, to which Bonnie responded with a thankful nod.

An earthy, aromatic smell rose up from the mug as Bonnie took a small sip of his black coffee, feeling its caffeine already wake up his body before he turned back to Bonbon. "I hope you don't mind me asking something, Bon," the rabbit asked as he took another sip.

Bon shook her head and replied, "Not at all. What's on your mind?"

"Well..." Bonnie said before coming to a momentary pause. His eyes fell towards Mangle and Fredbear, then back at Bon. Amidst his thoughts, Bonnie took back on wanting to say something about the bunny's mood, for he didn't want to ruin her good mood potentially. It was hard enough to see her genuinely smile again…

After a while, Bonnie finally said, "I was wondering if you were willing to practice a song or two with me so that I can get myself into tune for the day."

Bonbon's expression beamed happily, "Of course, Bonnie! I already have my guitar here, so do you want me to go grab yours?"

"If you would please, I'd appreciate it," Bonnie said with a thankful smile. "We can practice right after breakfast when the caffeine kicks in."

"Sounds good to me," Bon replied back enthusiastically before walking out of the room to go get his guitar.

Once the blue bunny had left the room, Bonnie lowered his mug and glanced between the two remaining animatronics. In a much more hushed tone, he asked, "Hey guys, not to be a downer and all, but... is Bon acting a lot more cheerful than usual?"

Mangle dropped her smile, and her ears drooped backward a bit while Fred did nothing but give the rabbit an expressionless face.

"Uhm… I guess she's acting a lot more cheery than she did after - that - happened," Mangle muttered somberly before giving Bonnie a puzzled look. "But is that a bad thing? I mean, bless her heart, she could use some positivity nowadays. I came in this morning to find her that happy, so I didn't pay too much mind to it."

Bonnie nodded before turning to Fredbear, who only shrugged.

"Hey, don't look at me. I was barely paying any attention to what was happening to be honest with ya. My body is still trying to wake up."

"Oh well you're quite the help," Bonnie sarcastically said as he took another sip. He glanced back to Mangle and gave a small shrug of his shoulders. " I don't know why I asked you that, maybe I was curious if anyone else picked up on that. Who knows, it's too early for this kind of talk."

As if on cue, they heard a pair of footsteps approach the lounge room, and the animatronics quickly put back on their smiles as Bonbon re-entered.

"I got your guitar," Bon stated with a smile, completely oblivious to the discussion her friends were having.

"Great, you can go ahead and put it next to yours," Bonnie said with a smile as he began to walk towards the couch.

Bonbon walked back over to her spot on the couch and shifted the two guitars to make some room for Bonnie. The rabbit gave a thankful nod as he sat down next to Bonbon, and he took one last gulp of his coffee before setting the mug aside.

The animatronic then wrapped an arm around the bunny that sat next to him, and his smile widened when he felt Bon rest her head on his shoulder. Bonnie took the second he had with her to just briefly glance over at Bon and get a glimpse of her cheerful expression.

There was always something about Bonbon's smile that just made him feel warm inside, not in the sense of romance but rather of kinship. She was like a sister to him, and Bonnie wouldn't want to have any other way.

Eventually, Bonnie had to glance away from the bunny's alluring smile and face towards the television in front of them. While the two sat alongside each other, holding their smiles, Bonnie prayed silently to himself. "Please... Let Bon keep her smile... just a little longer..."


	7. Chapter 7

Two chapters in one day?! From me? That's unheard of! I hope you enjoy!

A huge shout-out goes to Devil-Vox, who had accepted my commission and drew this fantastic splash-art for both this story and _The Desire For Family_! If you like kemono-style art, then I highly recommend you checking out his DA account.

* * *

Chapter 7

~Small Talk~

The pizzeria was peacefully quiet for Jeremy. The night guard was sitting back in his chair, relaxed in his cushioned seat. So far, the shift had gone on without any hiccups, as per usual.

Jeremy let out a sigh before glancing down at his watch nonchalantly, seeing it was only an hour past midnight. He glanced away from his watch and up towards the monitor, which displayed the animatronics' hallway entrance. Bonbon still hadn't left the hall, but it was getting close to when she usually did, so Jeremy kept his eyes peeled for that.

A minute later, the animatronics' hallway doors shifted open, and the night guard straightened himself before saying who it was. The blue head of Bonbon stuck out, causing the man to relax a tad in his seat; the memory of their previous encounter the other night was still fresh in his mind.

...

Bon's green eyes pierced through the darkness as she glanced at both her left and right. At first, they had a wary look to them, as if she was afraid of running into one of her friends, but they softened once she found the coast was clear. The bunny sighed in relief before taking a glance back into her hall, checking it one last time before stepping through the doors. After ensuring the doors closed with a light thud, the animatronic turned her gaze up towards the security camera and its red LED light, indicating to her that the guard was watching.

She stood where she was in silence, only to then offer a small yet soft smile. After a moment or two, Bon finally turned away from the camera and began to make her way down the hall. The sound of her feet lightly pattering against the tiled floor echoed as she made her way into the dining hall, maintaining her smile as she glanced over towards the next camera dangling near the entrance to the restaurant. It shifted along with her with a soft mechanical whirr, only to then turn off once she had passed by several of the dining room tables. The animatronic continued to walk through the room without glancing back towards the camera. Instead, her eyes peered over, ever so slightly, towards a largely vacant part of the room. Her smile faltered when her gaze fell on the spot, but she eventually forced herself to look away as she entered into the main hall.

She walked onwards through the darkness, only feeling a slight bit creeped out by having to walk through them alone. Sure, she may have wandered past these halls countless times in her years since the day she first came to be, but the animatronic could never shake away the creeping feeling of seeing a place, which brought so much happiness to kids during the day, at its most quiet and eerie time of the day. Aside from herself, her family, and the night guard, the whole building descended into stillness. There were no youthful and innocent faces to brighten the atmosphere; there was no laughter or music to break the silence; there was no bright sunlight to radiate into the blackened halls. There was only the subtle and chilling whirr of the building's generators humming within the darkness.

By the time she had turned the corner, Bonbon had shaken her head to push aside those creeping thoughts, and, instead, her attention focused down towards the very end of the hall. There, within a dimly lit room, a young man sat idly in his chair, seemingly unaware of her presence. She gazed at the night guard with a hesitant expression showing in her eyes, but she once again forced herself to push forward and walk down the shadowy hall, slowly approaching the office.

...

Jeremy had been watching the animatronic slowly make its way through the dining hall before shifting his camera feed away from it. He was both surprised and curious as to why it wasn't carrying its sporty-looking guitar with it; it had been for all the other nights when it came out. He didn't act or seem too alarmed though by its approach towards the main hall since he recalled his surprisingly calm experience with it from the previous night.

Nevertheless, once he switched the camera angle to within the main hall and saw the animatronic bunny enter into it, the night guard quickly changed his feed through the rest of the cameras, just to make sure none of the others were sneaking out. A few seconds pass as he glimpses over all the rest of the cameras, doubling up on each view before switching off to the next location. By the time he selected the camera overlooking the animatronic's hallway entrance, a sudden and eerie echo roared from the down the hall. The ambient sound forced the man to peer up from his screen so that he could listen to the sound more closely. It sounded like something metallic was banging against a hard metal pipe, with the unsettling whirr of the building's ventilation continually blowing behind the sound to create a sense of dreading ambiance. The noise was absolutely nerve-wracking to listen to, and Jeremy felt a bit uneasy when he glanced down the hall to find a pair of glowing green eyes staring right at him through the veil of shadows.

The sight of the animatronic's piercing eyes caught the young man off-guard. While he was well of which animatronic it was since he had been following its movement, Jeremy felt his gut instinctively grip itself inside his stuck, as if it was warning him of the impending danger. The guard knew better than to trust his gut because of his earlier experience with the machine, but he still couldn't help himself when he felt a tad bit creeped out by how the animatronic's body was just barely visible through the building's darkness. The machine's slow but methodic approach towards him was disconcerting to watch, and the young man, for a brief moment, felt like a helpless prey staring at its would-be killer seconds before its strike. By the time the animatronic came into view of the office's dim lights, the guard's shoulders had already tensed up out of pure survival instinct, and his breathing paused.

The animatronic made its way to the entrance of the office before stopping, standing in-between the gap that separated the office from the rest of the building. Both individuals were silent as their gazes met each other, a wave of nervousness fell upon both of them as man and machine stared at each other with a sense of uncertainty dwindling inside each other. The air remained tense between the two before finally, one of them raised their hand.

...

Bonbon could see the young man's tense gaze when she met eyes with him, and she was already starting to have second thoughts about going through with this. Nobody else from the gang had voiced their opinions or concerns about talking with individual humans, but there was always a sense of subtle distrust between the two parties just because of how they've been treated thus far from Frank and irritated parents. It was apparent nobody really cared about or was in the least bit interested in how Bon and her family felt during the day, so why would this man be any different? How could he be any different? Bon wasn't sure about that answer until last night when the guard had confronted her.

The animatronic exhaled softly through her nose before relaxing her shoulders, and, after what felt like a minute of non-stop staring, she raised her right paw and waved. "H-Hey Jeremy..." Bonbon said meekly as her gentle smile returned, hoping to ease the man's nerves as she took another step forward, now entirely inside the room.

She watched as the guard offered up his own weak smile before raising a hand slightly to wave back. "Uh-Hello... Bonbon?" he asked in a soft tone, checking to see if he said the right name.

The bunny's smile widened a tad as she nodded her head. "You got it. It's Bonbon or Bon, whichever is most comfortable for you to use."

Jeremy nodded his head, "Thanks. I wasn't too sure which one to use. I remember you said something similar yesterday, but I just wanted to make sure."

"You're fine." Bon giggled lightly as she shook her head. "If it makes you feel any better, some people don't even bother to ask my name or care to remember it, so you're already step up than most."

"Thank you." the guard responded with a genuine tone as his smile grew as well. The youth casually scratched the small bit of fuzz on his chin, "I noticed you weren't carrying your guitar when I saw you in the cameras, which kinda surprised. I'm so used to seeing you bring that with you whenever you came out."

Bon's smile faltered a little when she heard that, for the memory of being alone with it came back to mind. However, she was quick to dispel those thoughts as she offered back her grin. "Yeah... I just... didn't feel like bringing that out today." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"That's fine, I don't see any problem with that," Jeremy said with a nod. "So then, what can I do for you, Bon?"

"Well..." the bunny's voice trailed off for a second as her eyes peered away towards the wall before returning. "I was... hoping that we could just talk for a bit and get to know one another. I mean... I'm sure you're bored and all... And, I can only imagine how lonely you are, having to watch over us without anyone to talk with, especially since you've been working here for a month now, right?"

Jeremy nodded again. "Yeah, I'm kinda surprised that I've worked here that long myself. I swear time flies by fast when you're not thinking about."

"Yeah, it sometimes does." Bon agreed with a nod.

The guard then sat back into his chair as he replied with a smile, "Well if you came over to chat for a bit, I don't see any problem in that. I hope you won't mind though if I occasionally check the cameras every so often."

"No not at all." the animatronic said with a shake of her head. "It's your job after all. I won't take offense."

"Appreciate it," Jeremy said as he took a quick glimpse through all the cameras while asking, "-so what do you wanna talk about?"

Bonbon smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "As I said before, I'd like to know a bit more about you. Who you are, what you like, you know, all of that kind of stuff. If, of course... that's alright with you."

Jeremy glanced back towards her once he finished checking the cameras and quickly shook his head with a neutral look on his face. "Yeah, sure. Uhm... Well, obviously, my name is Jeremy, as you already know. I don't really do much outside of my job since there's not much I can do. I got a simple apartment, nothing too big and it's manageable for at the most two people." He sighed while leaning back in his chair. "I-uh... You can say I'm used to being alone, so this job doesn't bother me too much. I get long hours to myself while getting paid, so I'm not complaining. How about you?"

Bon chuckled to herself softly as she shrugged her shoulders, "Well, my name's Bon, and, obviously, I'm an animatronic. To be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure how it feels for people to be talking to me. I mean, I'm a bunny that can talk, sing, play music, and so on. As far as I'm aware, most animals can't do that."

Jeremy nodded his head with a short chuckle. "Yeah. You can say you're a one of a kind."

"Heh heh heh... So I've heard from Fredbear." She said with a shake of her head, but when she peered back, she noticed his somewhat confused look. "Oh, what's wrong?" She asked curiously.

The guard shook his head quickly, "Oh-uh nothing. I just feel kinda bad that I haven't gotten to learn all your names yet. I figured for a place that seems so popular during the day, they'd at least have some posters or something with your names on them."

"If I recall, I think they did, but that had been a while ago, back when I first joined the band. However, management decided it was better if we addressed our names to each other during our shows, making sure kids don't get confused at who is who." The animatronic then leaned in a bit closer towards the guard, "Don't tell them this but... I honestly think its insulting towards the kids' intelligence. I can't tell why people are always so insistent on dumbing down things for children. They're smarter people than people give them credit for."

"Really? How so?" the man asked, not in a means of being derogative but rather engage in the conversation.

"Well, they're creative, just ask either Foxy or Mangle! Whenever those two are doing one of their pirate shows, they have a specific script set for them for the day, but they almost always deviate from it because the kids attending it are always side-tracking them with original ideas! A rivaling pirate crew suddenly attacks them... A sea monster abruptly captures either one of them... Ninjas attack them from out nowhere. From what Foxy's told me, the most found he and Mangle have is whenever one of the kids decide to take control of the story and lead them through a wild adventure that neither of them would have imagined, and that's just about kids who participate with their shows. There's always the music enthusiasts and cooking ones as well! It always brings a smile to my face when kids can just be kids, and... a frown when I have to seem them grow up." Bon stated somberly as her eyes drifted to the floor, recalling memories of countless faces who she's haven't seen in years.

Jeremy noticed her sudden change in demeanor, so he tried changing the subject to lighten the mood. "Do you ever get bored doing the same thing over and over again? I'll be honest, I have no clue what's it like to be an animatronic, and you're certainly the first one I've met that's actually talked to me."

Bonbon simply shrugged her shoulders while keeping her somewhat somber frown. "Sometimes... It honestly depends on the day. Some days I don't mind it at all, others it becomes a drag. I've been doing this for well over fifteen years, so I've seen just about everything I've could. Doesn't mean I don't like what I do. I've always got a family that I can turn too..." The bunny then fell quiet as she peered towards the floor, her ears sulking over while her expression continued to frown.

...

The night guard frowned when he saw the animatronic's mood visibly diminish, and he momentarily forgot about his job as he stood up from his chair. "Is everything alright Bon? Is something upsetting you?"

He watched the blue bunny as it sighed loudly before shaking its head. "No... Or well yeah, but it's not something you should worry about." It said as the animatronic faced back towards him, forcing itself to offer a smile. "I just get a bit side-tracked nowadays from... things." The animatronic said vaguely but truthfully.

Although he kept his concerned look, Jeremy gave a short nod in understanding. "I understand. It happens. You don't have to stick around and talk if you're uncomfortable. I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to stick around."

The bunny sighed again, "A-Are you sure? I just got here, and you still got some time before your shift ends."

Jeremy nodded. "Don't worry about me. I already appreciate the time you've spent talking with me today."

Bon's smile softened as it then became genuine. "Ok... You-you wouldn't mind if I came around again tomorrow then and we can continue our chat?"

"Not at all. Feel free to come by anytime you'd like too."

The animatronic nodded with her smile as she straightened herself. "Thank you. I can't wait to see you then tomorrow, Jeremy."

Jeremy nodded back. "Likewise. Have a good night, Bon."

"You too." the animatronic said as she turned herself around and made her way out of the room.

The night guard watched in silence as the bunny made its way down into the darkened hallway, slowly walking away from the office's dim lighting and becoming swallowed in darkness. While he watched Bon disappear from view, the young man had a beaming grin across his face. "Perhaps this job isn't going to be as boring as I thought it would..."


	8. Chapter 8

A huge shout-out goes to Devil-Vox, who had accepted my commission and drew this fantastic splash-art for both this story and _The Desire For Family_! If you like kemono-style art, then I highly recommend you checking out his DA account.

* * *

Chapter 8

 _~An Understanding~_

The relaxed humming of Bon's soothing voice intertwined itself with the soft strumming of her guitar as the animatronic sat alone atop of the stage. The bunny's blue and white-furred head bobbed alongside the tune, her body and mind focused entirely on the song that ran through her head. Each paw struck a chord rhythmically; the animatronic's experienced hands did not once stutter as they effortlessly produced the calming song. With only the moon's glowing white light giving the single animatronic company, the whole building was quiet as the bunny continued.

 _"Bon...!"_

Bonbon's focus faltered as she recoiled her head back a bit when she heard the faint, distant call of her name echo through her mind.

 _"Bon...!"_

The animatronic visibly flinched once again when she once again heard the distinct voice call out to her, causing the bunny's hands to fumble slightly as a growing sense of dread consumed her thoughts.

 _"Bonbon...! Bonbon...!"_

Almost subconsciously, Bonbon's voice began to whimper while her closed eyelids twitched. The faint but hazy memory of that dreadful night was starting to surface, and Bon couldn't help herself as she faltered in her tune, no longer able to focus her attention to the song.

 _"Bon..."_

In a momentary flash of memories, the animatronic helplessly gasped for air as her eyelids flew open, revealing her two distressed-looking green eyes. Her ears drew higher in response to her nervous gasping, and Bon's voice continued to whimper while her heart pounded inside her chest. The once peaceful and soothing atmosphere of her music had been replaced with the alarming sound of someone choking on their air. When Bonbon's eyes finally shifted over to vast, empty portion of the darkened restaurant, her whimpering voice finally broke down into a tearful sob.

It didn't matter how many times she told herself it wasn't her fault. The memory of that fateful night was all but fuzzy, except for the distant voice of Mangle calling out her name. That was one thing she could remember about that dreadful night, and it was the one thing that's haunted her since then. The animatronic's tearful sobbing echoed through the otherwise quiet room, with only the pizzeria's shadows providing any sense of company for her before receding away when a bright headlight loomed through the front entrance of the building.

Bon raised her head towards the beaming light before watching it shift over to the side, stopping itself inside one of the empty parking spots, before eventually turning itself off. With a glance with her tearful eyes, the bunny sniffled at a clock that stood high on a wall, reading out, "11:43 PM". The night guard had just arrived. Bonbon turned her head back and watched in silence as the car headlight turned itself off and the young, able body of Jeremy got out of the driver's seat.

With a gentle sigh, Bonbon raised her one free hand up to wipe her tear-filled eyes while the other held her guitar. The animatronic paw patted the fur surrounding her emerald-colored eyes before lowering it back down, now only wearing a solemn frown as the young guard reached for the door. When she heard his keys opening the locked glass door, the animatronic bunny took in another deep sigh before relaxing her shoulders.

The young guard was quick to walk in and lock the door back up, simultaneously pulling his flashlight out of his belt-line and turning it on. Bon watched in silence as the metal rod beamed the bright light upwards toward the ceiling before coming back down onto the floor, ensuring the guard that he won't run into anything. She could hear him sigh as well before turning himself around, allowing the blue animatronic see his somewhat saddened expression. Bonbon's eyes softened further as the guard started making his way towards the main hallway.

The animatronic couldn't help herself when she watched him sulk his way closer to the hall, and she instinctively stood up from the stage and hopped herself down onto the cold, tiled floor. Her two pawed feet landing on the checkered tiles, producing a loud enough, "Thwump," for the night guard to hear. She glanced suddenly when the flashlight shined it's blinding beam right into her eyes, only to quickly lower itself when Jeremy saw who it was.

"Oh, hey Bon." the young man said slightly apologetically as he shifted the flashlight further down at the floor to prevent it from blinding her again.

Bonbon quickly shook her head before glancing back over in response, her two emerald green eyes piercing through the veil of darkness. "Heya, Jeremy." the animatronic replied back simply as she walked up towards him with her two hands firmly pressing her guitar against her white-furred chest.

"I... I wasn't expecting to see you so early," the young man said awkwardly, brushing a free hand over his blonde hair. It was clear to Bon that he hadn't anticipated anyone in seeing his sunken mood.

Bonbon frowned in response as her expression grew more concerned. When she got close enough to where the guard could see her face, the animatronic bunny stopped and tilted her head slightly. "Are you feeling alright, Jeremy? Is there something wrong?"

Jeremy's eyes fell downwards for a moment as he avoided her gaze, but he eventually raised them back up after he had shaken his head. "I-It's not something you should trouble yourself with. It's not important." He then paused for a second so that he could glance over to the empty hallway to his left. "Do you... wanna come down to the office with me? I'd be up to talk with ya some more."

Hoping to lighten the mood, Bonbon offered a gentle smile, and she nodded her head. "Sure. I'd like that."

With a gesture of his hand, Jeremy directed Bonbon to walk out in front of him, offering up his own polite smile. Bonbon happily obliged, and together, the two made their way through the darkened hallway before taking a left. Bon's eyes glowed out in front of her, illuminating her face with a soft greenish glow while Jeremy continued to shine his flashlight downwards at the floor in front of them. Eventually, the two reached the far end of the security hall, and Bonbon nodded to him thankfully as he clicked the flashlight off.

The guard quickly walked on over to the office chair that sat behind the desk, and Bon relaxed by plopping down at the front of the desk, having her back slightly turned to Jeremy while her head glanced over her left shoulder. The animatronic wore a smile as she watched the night guard boot up his computer and settle himself down inside the chair.

"So then, I hope you're feeling better than you were yesterday." Jeremy piped up as he propped open the security feed throughout the pizzeria before turning his attention back towards Bon.

Although deep down she didn't feel any different than she did the previous night when she had left him, the animatronic instead nodded her head with a thankful smile. "I am, thank you for asking."

Jeremy responded with a nod. "Not a problem. So um... Tell me, Bon. How long have you been around?"

"Are you asking how long I've been active?" She asked in a curious tone.

"Mhm." the guard said simply as he briefly glanced over the monitor and shifted through several cameras.

Bonbon, in turn, peered up into space for a moment of thought, "Hmmm... I've been around for well over a decade now. I'd say closer to... seventeen? Eighteen years maybe? It's been a while." the animatronic sighed before shifting her eyes back towards the guard. "How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen at the moment," he replied back after he finished glimpses through the camera feeds. "I turn twenty in about a month."

Bon's face lit up a tad when she heard this. "Oh? You were born in May? Are you excited about your birthday?"

The guard's smile slightly faltered as he shook his head. "Eh, I'm indifferent, to be honest."

Bonbon's eyebrows sunk inward a tad as her smile turned into a frown. "Oh... Really? Do you not have anybody special to celebrate with?" Her voice sounded genuinely concerned. Perhaps it was because she had spent so many years celebrating other kid's birthdays that she needed to know why he was as excited as most.

Jeremy hesitated for a moment before shaking his head slowly, "I don't have a family... I've been an orphan my whole life..."

Bon gave the man a pitying look as her eyelids sunk downwards in sorrow and her frown drooped further. "I-I... I'm sorry to hear that."

The night guard nodded his head. "Most people are when they hear that. I-It's fine though, Bon. I've gotten used to it at this point," the young man said with a nonchalant shrug, though his somber-looking gaze remained.

Bonbon nodded her head in understanding, but, like Jeremy, the expression in her eyes remained. The two directly gazed at each other in solemn silence, a mutual agreement between the two.

Eventually, the quietness of the pizzeria was broken when a few faint voices could be heard from down the hall, causing both Bon and Jeremy to shift their attention away from each other and look towards the sound. While Bonbon could see just fine with only her eyes, Jeremy had some trouble peering through the darkness, so he quickly glanced over at his monitor screen and selected the next camera overlooking the main hallway. Bon turned her head back over towards the guard, and she watched as the camera feed then showed several colorful figures walking down the hall.

The first figure leading the group was Chica, who was wearing a relaxed smile as she walked in front of two other animatronics. Mangle, who was wearing a playful grin, was the second figure to pop up behind Chica, and she had her arms wrapped around the third animatronic's arm as if leading them forward. The last animatronic to show up was Freddy, who wore an annoyed look as the white vixen led him down the hall.

Seeing the bear's look told Bonbon enough, and she couldn't help but giggle softly as her smile reappeared on her face. The night guard raised an eyebrow before glancing back over at the bunny with a somewhat confused look, which caused her to shake her head while maintaining her smile. "Hehehe... Sorry. I'm just giggling about Freddy is all."

The guard furrowed his eyebrow further. "What's going on?"

The blue animatronic shook her head again before letting another giggle escape from her mouth. "We typically take turns as to who gets to cook dinner, and tonight just so happens to be Freddy's turn."

"So then why does he not look too happy?" Jeremy asked.

"Because Freddy can't cook, even if his life depended on it," she said with a smile, her head filling itself with memories with times where the bear had somehow managed to ruin several meals with his cooking. "I don't know why he has no much trouble with it. This one time, he managed to ruin toast, of all things!"

Jeremy couldn't help but laugh in bewilderment, "Wait, what? Really? He ruined toast?"

Bonbon nodded her head with a beaming smile, remembering the scene vividly as her head was filled with the laughter of her family. "Hehehe. Yeah. He must have left it too long in the oven or something because by the time it was breakfast, the toast had been burnt to crisp. He almost started a fire with them."

The guard glanced back at the screen to get a second look at the bear's expression, and he couldn't help but laugh as it seemed to make more sense as to why he looked irritated. "If he's so bad at cooking, then why are the other two taking him with them?"

Bonbon's smile widened when she peered back at the screen, taking note of the vixen's grin. "Because we like to give him a hard time on it. It's an inside joke we have with each other," she responded with a shrug of his shoulders. "We just like to see his reaction whenever we tease at the table. If there's anything wrong with the food, we just blame Freddy for it, even if it wasn't his turn to cook that day."

Jeremy chuckled when he heard this as he peered back into the darkness of the hallway, listening in more closely as he could now understand the animatronics' distinct giggling with one another.

"Hehehe... C'mon Freddy! I'm sure you'll do fine! We aren't cooking anything hard today, isn't that right Chica?"

"Mhm. We're making BLT's today. I would have him make the toast, but something tells me he's better off putting on the mayonnaise."

The guard could hear a low groan emit from another figure before he noticed all three animatronics' eyes light up at the very end of the end, only to then disappear as they made their way inside the kitchen. His smile widened some more as he glanced back over at Bon.

"He didn't sound too happy," he said with a low chuckle, which prompted the bunny giggle as well.

"No, he didn't," Bonbon cooed back playfully before an idea popped up in her head. "Say, Jeremy, you mentioned before that you'd like to get to know everyone, right?"

"Uh-Yeah, why?"

Bonbon paused for a second, "Well... Maybe you'd like to have dinner with us. You'll get a chance to finally meet everyone, and you'd still be technically watching us." The animatronic was quick to rebuttal herself by stammering, "B-But if you don't want to, that's fine as well! I just wanted to offer you a chance to get to know everyone without Mr. Smith around..."

Jeremy nodded his head in understanding as he recalled the tense and awkward situation his boss had put him through on the first day. "Y-Yeah, no you're fine. I... I'd be happy to join along, so long as the others are fine with it." He responded with a polite smile, though his eyes looked a bit nervous at the prospect of being face to face with several of the animatronics who have done nothing but glared at the cameras when they saw them turned on.

"If you're afraid that they'll harm you, don't be. They're not really mad at you, they're just annoyed by the cameras is all," Bonbon stated in reassurance. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll make sure they don't do anything to hurt you. We're not monsters, after all."

Jeremy offered up a thankful expression towards Bon as he nodded his head. "I would appreciate that. Thank you."

"It's not a problem," Bon replied back with a smile of her own, happy to see the man's mood lighten up.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! I know it may seem like I've abandoned writing, but let me assure you that I have not! I've been busy these last couple months with college work, including my summer courses. Hopefully, this message here will quell any doubts of abandonment, but, like what they say, actions speak louder than words, and I think I've got something for all of you who have been waiting patiently.

A huge shout-out goes to Devil-Vox, who had accepted my commission and drew this fantastic splash-art for both this story and _The Desire For Family_! If you like kemono-style art, then I highly recommend you checking out his DA account.

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Chapter 9

~An Introduction~

Bonbon and Jeremy talked with each other for well over an hour, and their moods had brightened up significantly since when the shift started. The night guard would occasionally glance over at the monitor screen to make sure everything was alright while the bunny sat there atop his desk with a smile wide across her face. The physical boundary of man and machine didn't seem to creep up to either of their minds, for both were simply enjoying themselves as they talked with one another.

For Jeremy, it was interesting to hear from the perspective of the bunny, for he had never really considered what life could be like for a sentient animatronic. The fact that Bonbon acted so lively and, well, human astounded the man. He grew more comfortable with her as time went on, for she didn't seem to act or behave like the troublesome animatronic his boss had built her up to be.

As for Bonbon, it was fascinating for her to ask about the world outside of the pizzeria. The only source of information the animatronics ever got was either from the TV they have inside their lounge room or from the small library of books that Fredbear had miraculously collected over the years. Bon may not have known how the bear had managed to garner so many books, but she was nevertheless thankful for them. However, neither of those could be as informative as Jeremy was when he explained the seemingly mundane tasks and inventions to the animatronic. There were so many things that she and the gang never knew or will never be able to see because of what they were, but, regardless, it was interesting to talk with the night guard.

Eventually, the two perked their heads upright when Jeremy noticed the three animatronics inside the kitchen were just about ready to head back to their hallway, prompting Bon to turn around and peer down the darkened hallway. A few moments passed and she soon spotted CC and Mangle leading Freddy out of the room, all three of whom were carrying plates of various dishes. For a second, none of them seemed to have noticed her down the hall when they left the kitchen, but soon enough, the white-furred vixen glanced over with a light smile before pausing in confusion, dropping her smile when she did so. Bon noticed this as soon as their eyes met, but her grin didn't disappear like Mangle's as the bunny responded back with a wave of her hand. Mangle, still looking bewildered, offered back a gentle wave of her own before disappearing into the hallway behind Freddy and CC, who both didn't seem to notice Bon.

When all three animatronics had left Bonbon's view, the animatronic peered back towards Jeremy and smiled. "Looks like dinner is ready, and, judging by the smell of things, Freddy hadn't burnt anything."

The night guard chuckled softly before nodding his head, "Oh well that's good. Let me do just one last check-up around the building before we head down, alright?"

Bon replied with a simple nod before hopping off the desk, "Take as much as you need. I'm in no rush."

The man nodded his head thankfully before taking one last check through the cameras to make sure there were no other animatronics outside. As he was checking, the guard then spotted the first three animatronics enter into their hallway, leaving Bonbon as the only one left outside their hall. Jeremy peered back towards the animatronic bunny with a small smile, nodding his head in acknowledgment. "I'm all set."

"Great! You can go ahead and take your flashlight with you since I know it can be dark at times," Bon responded with a smile as she waited for the young man patiently next to the hallway opening.

Jeremy stood up from his chair and swiped up his flashlight from the desk. He calmly walked over to the animatronic and smiled at her as the two then made their way down the dark restaurant. Although he still wore a smile on his face, Jeremy's heart couldn't help but pound inside his chest as they drew further away from the office. Were these animatronics really the menace that his boss had hyped them up to be? Regardless of what the answer might be, the man was about to find out.

...

Mangle had worn a frown the whole way to the lounge when she walked behind both Freddy and CC. Her concerned look remained as the three entered the room, with the vixen seemingly ignoring the grinning expressions when the rest gang saw the warm meal.

"Ah! It be 'bout time for supper!" Foxy announced with a toothy grin as he walked over to the dinner table, earning him several nods from the rest of the gang as they all took their seats.

"Well don't blame Mangle or I for taking so long," CC piped up. "It's not out fault we have to watch Freddy while he cooks. Otherwise, he might accidentally poison us!"

In turn, Freddy groaned in annoyance before rolling his eyes. "Oh c'mon, I'm not THAT bad."

This, however, earned him several more giggles from the gang before Chica then said, "Well... I wouldn't be too sure about that. It's pretty hard to mess up a simple thing like toast..."

"That was one time, Chica! One time!" the bear groaned once more as he and CC set their hot pizza dishes down onto the table.

Mangle paid no mind to the animatronics' teasing while she set her pizza dish down as well, only just perking away from her thoughts when she then heard Bonnie's voice then say, "Well. I should probably get Bon from her room and let her know dinner is ready. I'm sure she's just as hungry as we are."

"Um... Bon's not in her room," the vixen finally said as she glanced around the table, noticing the gang's raised eyebrows of concern when they took note of her own expression.

Fredbear was the first to respond. "What? She's not? Where is she then?"

Mangle paused for a moment as she tried forming her words, only to then be interrupted when a familiar voice spoke up from the lounge doorway.

"Heya everyone," Bon said with a gentle smile as she walked into the room, causing everyone including Mangle to turn towards her.

"Oh, there you are Bon! You're right on time for dinner!" Chica responded with a sunny grin.

The bunny paused for the faintest of seconds as she stood rather nervously at the doorway, her once confident demeanor she had with Jeremy now faltering. "U-Um yeah, about that... I-I was wondering if maybe..." The animatronic took a side step from the doorway, allowing the gang to then widen their eyes in surprise when they saw the night guard come into view. "I was wondering if Jeremy could join us for dinner."

...

Jeremy glanced at the colorful gang in anxiousness as he saw their eyes bear down on him. He had managed to form a weak smile while they stared, and he slowly raised his hand upwards to offer an awkward kind of wave. "U-Uhm... Hi." The guard's voice then fell silent, and he dropped his wave when none of the other animatronics waved back.

He could feel a dribble of sweat trickle down from his forehead as he felt their gaze pierce into his soul, similar to what they did on the first day of his job. The young man started to feel uncomfortable with the sudden tenseness, but his shaking stopped when he felt Bon's gentle paw calmly rest itself onto his shoulder. He quickly glanced back and relaxed a bit when he saw Bonbon's assuring eyes.

"I had offered him to come eat with us," Bon said as she broke the awkward silence. "He said he'd like to get to know you since we never really did get a proper introduction with each other, and I figured it would be alright for him to join us since we're all here."

Jeremy glanced back towards the quiet table of animatronics after Bon had said that. He watched as several of the gang members expressions' had changed to uncertainty, only to then divert their attention away from him and each other when the sound of a deep cough came from Freddy. Everyone's eyes then fell to the bear as he straightened himself.

"I see," the bear's gruff voice said as he walked towards the Bonbon and Jeremy, shifting his shoulders around until they comfortably slumped into a natural position. When he got right up to the young man, Freddy extended a hand to the guard before finally smiling, "Well then, let me be the first introduce myself to ya since we never did seem to get a chance to get acquainted with each other."

At first, Jeremy peered down at the bear's hand nervously as he contemplated on whether or not he should shake it, but his senses finally came together as he weakly shook it.

Freddy kept his smile as he then broke away from his handshake and gently nodded his head. "I am Freddy Fazbear, the proud figurehead of this fine establishment." The bear then straightened his body once more before shifting his arm towards the rest of the animatronic. "And this here is the Fazbear gang."

Jeremy followed the bear's arm towards the rest of the animatronic gang, who all had mixed emotions. Several of them still had uncertain looks plastered onto their faces, but the others only had to take one look between Bonbon and Freddy before finally giving the young man a smile of their own.

Bonnie was the first to speak after Freddy, offering the night guard a polite nod as he spoke. "The name's Bonnie. It's a pleasure to meet ya." Bonnie's head then tilted towards his left, to where the white vixen stood.

At first, Mangle said nothing as she merely gazed the guard and Bon, but her eyelids softened as her face formed a simple neutral expression. "I'm Mangle, First Mate of me Captain's crew," she finally said in a Scottish accent.

CC was the next one in line to speak, and, unlike most of the other gang members, her expression seemed to be a lot more cheerful in comparison. "Well hiya, there! I'm Chi Chi, but everyone just calls me CC! Glad to meet ya!"

Sitting right next to the somewhat ecstatic animatronic was Chica, who, unlike her counterpart, wore a calm expression as she simply nodded her head in acknowledgment. "I'm Chica," the wider chicken said merely.

Fredbear, who sat across from Chica, was the next one to speak, so he calmly collected his voice before politely nodding his head. "Fred Fazbear is the name, but please, call me Fredbear."

Then lastly, everyone's eyes turned to Foxy, who took a momentary glance around the table before widening his eyes, "Oh! Hehe, sorry! Didn't realize it be my turn," the pirate fox stated in a thicker accent than Mangle. With a quick nod and quirky smile, the fox flashed at the guard a toothy grin. "The name's Foxy the Pirate, captain of me own vessel. Or, well, I would be if Frank wasn't so much of a cheapskate."

Several of the animatronics chuckled at the comment, including Jeremy and Bon. The tension in the air seemed to have lifted up after everyone had finally introduced themselves to the young guard, who could feel a polite smile grow across his lips. His eyes drifted across the colorful animatronic gang, then back over at Bonbon, which made his grin grow a tad bit wider.

The bunny's own expression widened as well as her confidence started to come back to her. "Well then, now that we all know each other, shall we sit down to eat?"

The entire gang nodded their heads collectively, as did Jeremy, which caused Bon to giggle softly. "Let's dig in then!"

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As always, I hoped you all had enjoyed this chapter. I've been trying to give each animatronic a distinctive personality, which I intend to bring into my revised _Desire For Family._ If you like how this story has been so far and would like for me to give each specific animatronic a specific chapter to interact with Jeremy, please let me know! Other than that, I wish you all a good day.

Oh and one more thing. If any of you happen to be a beta reader who'd be interested in reading over my rough drafts as I write them, it would not only help me in my writing and planning but also keep me motivated. If you are interested, feel free to PM me through the site and I'll get back to you quickly.


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